


baby, daylight's wasting

by doloirs



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Domestic Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Misunderstandings, More tags to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-21 08:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9540356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doloirs/pseuds/doloirs
Summary: A collection of domestic Jeongcheol one-shots.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i'm a hoe for domestic jeongcheol fluff. there can never be enough.
> 
> some of these one-shots will likely contain smut, i'll make a mention it in the chapter notes. this will be updated sporadically because _heartlines on your hand_ is still my main priority (i'm working on the new chapter!! i had to get this out of my head first orz)
> 
> there won't be a whole lot of continuity between the parts, some themes may co-occur but mostly i just write whatever i feel like writing at the time, so the timeline will probably be all over the place.

Seungcheol doesn't really plan on asking Jeonghan to move in with him – like most things in their relationship leading up to this moment, it just sorts of happens. Jeonghan is in the middle of a weekly rant about his roommate, who has stolen his charger for the third (”and _final_!” he adds with a tone Seungcheol recognizes as dangerous) time, and instead of joining in on the routine by complaining about his recent rent increase, Seungcheol hears himself suggest that they kill two birds with one stone.

”Literally no one says that in the 21st century”, Jeonghan drawls from his lap, voice coming out muffled through the hoodie string he's chewing on. ”What do you even mean?”

Seungcheol plucks the string from between his pretty lips, ignoring Jeonghan's protest. He's still in that early stage, he supposes, where everything Jeonghan does seems pretty to him. Or cute. Or sexy. He shifts on the sofa, and Jeonghan growls a little when his head slides helplessly on Seungcheol's lap.

”I dunno”, Seungcheol says, striving for nonchalance, even though his heart is hammering like a freight train. ”Maybe we could look at a place, the two of us. It's cheaper and you wouldn't have to worry about annoying thieving roommates. Just an annoying boyfriend.”

Jeonghan stares up at him, doe-eyed, mouth slack around the other hoodie string. Seungcheol hates that Jeonghan never blushes, whereas Seungcheol's ears turn bright red whenever he's embarrassed. As though having read his thoughts, Jeonghan reaches up to touch the tip of his left ear, fingers tracing the heated skin around his helix piercing.

”I notice you left out the thieving part”, he says softly, pinching the shell of Seungcheol's ear just a little. ”Don't think I don't know where that red t-shirt went. Although I can't imagine how any clothing of mine would fit you.”

He's not entirely wrong. The shirt _is_ a little tight around the torso, but Seungcheol likes the way it smells of Jeonghan. He'll never tell him that, though.

”Fine”, Seungcheol says. He tries to make his voice airy to mask the disappointment, but instead it rises a few pitches. ”I'll just ask Hansol. He won't get mad if I borrow his stuff.”

”He won't get mad, period. It's Hansol”, Jeonghan points out, clambering to sit upright. Seungcheol's couch is more like a love seat, barely big enough to fit two grown people. ”So, that offer was only on the table for, what, three seconds?”

Seungcheol just stares. Jeonghan basically called him a thief, which seems a lot like a roundabout way of turning him down.

Unless...

Jeonghan nudges Seungcheol with his foot, but his eyes are fond. ”Of course I'll move in with you”, he says, and Seungcheol finds it impossible to stop grinning even as he continues, ”unless you were just running your mouth. In which case I'll kick your ass so hard you won't be able to bottom for weeks.”

And that's how it happens. They find a place not far from the school campus, a neat but old-fashioned one-bedroom flat with mustard yellow kitchen tiles and worn hardwood floors. On their first night at the new place, they manage to flood the bathroom floor by having sex in the tub, and after losing in a game of rock-paper-scissors Seungcheol spends half an hour mopping up the soapy water.

He can't bring himself to mind, though – not when he can curl up against Jeonghan's pliant body afterwards, breathing in the smell of his shampoo and listening to him sniffle in his sleep. Knowing that he gets to have this every single night.

Most of their friends are supportive, even if in their own ways. ”You two have more guts than me”, Mingyu points out at their housewarming party, when the night is winding down and the remaining guests are passing a joint between each other. ”Wonwoo and I have been dating far longer than you two, and I still wouldn't move in with him.”

”Yeah, right. We all know it's Wonwoo who won't have you”, Jihoon snorts, and Mingyu gives him the middle finger.

”I'm serious, though. Dating is one thing, but living together...” Mingyu trails off. His words are loose and slow from drinking and pot, and Seungcheol suddenly wishes he'd cut off his punch supply sooner. ”It changes things. Things you used to like start getting on your nerves. Secrets you never wished to come out do. You know, that sort of stuff.”

”Seungcheol hyung and Jeonghan hyung are not the same as you and your roommate”, Wonwoo says, and Mingyu scowls at him.

”I'm not talking about me and Hoseok. Lots of couples go through it.”

”Thanks for the support, Mingyu”, Seungcheol says dryly. He knows he shouldn't feel annoyed – Mingyu is infamous for coming up with all sorts of nonsense after one drink too many – , but somehow he does. He sips on his beer and glances over at Jeonghan, who's saying his goodbyes to Jisoo at the door. If Mingyu is a rambling drunk, Jeonghan is the bubbly sort, almost inanely friendly without his usual teasing bite.

”I'm not saying it will happen to you guys”, Mingyu says, and Seungcheol believes him. ”Sorry, hyung. It's just... interesting stuff, isn't it? How people fall in and out of love.”

The rest of them chuckle at his fumbling words, but Seungcheol remains distracted. He doesn't think it will happen to him and Jeonghan, and yet it could. He might wake up one day and feel ire where fondness used to linger at the sight of Jeonghan's sleeping face. Or Jeonghan's laugh, a sound he finds endlessly fascinating, might one day grind his gears like nails on chalkboard.

What seems even worse is that Jeonghan might feel the same. That he could grow to detest Seungcheol's throaty, absent-minded humming. Or maybe something else entirely, a trait Seungcheol has yet to observe in himself.

The conversation moves to safer waters. Seungcheol takes a drag of the offered joint as Jeonghan plops down on the floor next to him, and suddenly he's tugging Seungcheol towards him. Seungcheol understands and leans in, lips barely grazing Jeonghan's as he exhales into his mouth, sharing the smoke.

They make out lazily, Jeonghan nibbling on Seungcheol's lower lip and sucking it into the wet heat of his mouth. Seungcheol feels dazed and boneless as he rubs slow circles on Jeonghan's denim-clad thigh, licking into the seam of his mouth, tasting the mixture of fruity punch and marijuana.

Jeonghan's pupils are blown wide as they break apart, and he's grinning with his teeth. Even with his long blonde hair, he seems less like an angel and more like some impish reimagining of the devil. ”I could never grow tired of you”, Seungcheol mutters, more loose-tongued by Jeonghan's languid kisses than any illicit substance.

”I sure hope so, we've only been living together for a month”, Jeonghan drawls, and Seungcheol traces his upper lip with his thumb as he speaks. In the light of the table lamp nearby, his dark eyes seem to glow like embers.

”For God's sake”, Jihoon grumbles from Seungcheol's left. ”This is your house, you two could _literally_ get a room.”

”Great idea, Jihoon. The bedroom doesn't have a door, though”, Jeonghan points out sweetly. There is a chorus of groans, and their remaining guests take that as their cue to leave.

 

 

The initial thrill of living together does settle down, eventually. There comes a point when Seungcheol no longer gets stupidly giddy when he trips on Jeonghan's shoes in the hallway or when they talk about _their_ grocery list or _their_ bed or even _their_ internet bill. He also learns that there is, indeed, a point where the sight of Jeonghan's hairties littering the sink no longer seem endearing, just like his tendency to leave his mugs lying around with just a bit of cold coffee at the bottom.

But these are little things, on most days hardly even a blip on his radar compared to the feeling of having Jeonghan all around him even in his physical absence. To unraveling new and often mundane bits of information about him on a daily basis, all adding up to the puzzle that is Yoon Jeonghan.

The first months pass in a flurry of schoolwork and part-time jobs and, occasionally, some semblance of social life. Seungcheol is in his fourth year of veterinary school, and after three years of sitting through lectures and cramming for exams, he's doing his clinical rotations. It means little rest and lots of granola bars and being constantly confronted with how little he actually seems to know. Although his superiors are patient and the work rewarding, the long hours are wearing him down and often leave him feeling like living dead by the time he shuffles through the front door, fresh out of a 14-hour shift.

Jeonghan's also in his final year. As an architecture major, he's working on his senior project – Seungcheol asked him about his topic once, but the short description left him with more questions than answers. On top of the project, Jeonghan's working part-time as a barista. The thought of it makes Seungcheol feel guilty, sometimes, has him wishing he could chip in more, even when he knows he couldn't possible find time for a job on top of his clinics.

Spring offers little relief. Seungcheol works long hours at all hours of the day and most often comes home to Jeonghan who's either fast asleep or trudging out of the door to either the studio or the coffee shop. On the rare chance that their free time coincides with each other, they barely have the energy to do more than doze through the day, wake up long enough for a round of sex and some takeout, before sleeping again.

It's hard, and Seungcheol often has to remind himself that it's all going to be worth it, but somehow they manage. Seungcheol doesn't realize how precariously balanced things have been until the slightest thing throws them off-kilter.

 

 

Seungcheol's muscles strain with effort as he pushes himself off Jeonghan, both of them trying to catch their breaths while coming down from their orgasms. The sheets feel sticky and clammy against his body, but he finds he doesn't even have half of the energy required to change them.

Jeonghan's slim-wristed hand appears in his line of vision. ”The loser does the cleanup”, he drones, voice slow and thick like molasses.

Seungcheol obliges, even though he knows Jeonghan is near-unbeatable in any game that requires luck. Sure enough, Jeonghan's hand wraps around his fist as paper beats rock, and with some effort Seungcheol pads into the bathroom to retrieve a pack of wet wipes. Jeonghan merely hums, eyes half-shut as Seungcheol gently wipes off the remains of cum on his lean stomach and between his thighs. Long hair splayed on the pillow around his head, he looks like a painting, and Seungcheol feels more at ease than he has in days as he takes in the delicate arch of his eyebrow, the hollows of his cheekbones (more prominent than before – he's lost some weight, although Seungcheol is aware the same goes for himself), the exposed line of his neck and shoulders.

”Quit staring and get some rest”, Jeonghan's voice slices through the silence. He reaches out to push Seungcheol's sweaty hair off his forehead. Seungcheol snorts and discards the towel, crawling back under the sheets. One of his arms finds refuge on Jeonghan's naked waist, and he nuzzles his face against the crown of his head, feeling Jeonghan's lashes flutter against his collarbone.

He's halfway to unconsciousness when he feels Jeonghan slip out from under his arm. The mattress shifts, and when Seungcheol opens his eyes, he sees Jeonghan's back facing him, his body curled up on the edge of the bed.

It happens again a few nights later – Seungcheol has Jeonghan in an embrace, when Jeonghan slowly wriggles free of his hold like a malcontent cat. Seungcheol whines as he reaches out for him, but Jeonghan merely complains about the heat as he moves over to the other side.

It shouldn't feel like a big deal, and yet it does. Seungcheol starts to pay attention to the little things – the darkening circles under Jeonghan's eyes, his increasingly sullen moods. How he's often lost in his thoughts, blaming it on the project or lack of sleep. How Jeonghan used to complain about their lack of time spent together, yet lately he seems to have resigned himself to whatever small moments they can spare between their hectic schedules. One time Seungcheol comes home late at night to an empty apartment, and as he checks his phone with the makings of panic stirring inside him, he discovers a message from Jeonghan.

_'crashing at the studio tonight. gn <3'_

It all gets to a point where, on top of his pre-existing stress, he finds himself wondering if Jeonghan's grown tired of him. Mingyu's stupid words keep resurfacing in his head, one time while he's assisting in surgery and certainly not supposed to have his attention on relationship problems, until he feels unreasonably angry at his friend.

Things reach a boiling point one night in June. Seungcheol is fresh out of an unsuccessful surgery and the smell of disinfectant still burns in his nostrils and all he wants to do is to cuddle with his boyfriend, so when Jeonghan squirms himself free after a few minutes, moving towards the far end of the bed again, Seungcheol snaps.

”If you don't wanna be with me anymore, just say so”, he says, and Jeonghan whips around to look at him, startled by the sharp sound.

”Cheol, what the fuck”, Jeonghan almost whispers. His voice isn't instigating anything, but it doesn't need to. Seungcheol's already swinging his legs off the edge of the mattress and grabbing his pillow.

”Since you don't wanna be near me, I'll just go.” Jeonghan stays silent as Seungcheol nothing short of stomps out of the bedroom, making his way to the couch. He wants to cry – if Jeonghan wasn't already sick of him, surely he will be after such an outburst. Overwhelmed by the storm of emotions inside his head, in the end it's sleep deprivation alone that causes Seungcheol to drift off.

He doesn't know how long it's been when he's brought awake by shuffling sounds. For a moment, Seungcheol stares stupidly at the bare feet standing in front of the couch. He grunts as Jeonghan climbs over him, laying down on his chest like some clingy koala in sweatpants. For his thin frame, Jeonghan really isn't all that light.

”Do you want to talk about it?” Jeonghan says, carefully lowering his cheek over Seungcheol's chest, listening for his heartbeat.

Seungcheol licks his lips as his eyes become fixated on a spot in the ceiling. He finds it difficult to get the first words out, but once he does, he ends up telling Jeonghan everything – how he feels like Jeonghan's been growing more distant, how he wonders if their busy schedule has taken its toll on things. If Jeonghan resents him for having to work while Seungcheol doesn't. He even tells him about Mingyu's words that night, and how he's been wondering if they held a ring of truth.

Once he runs out of things to say, Jeonghan remains quiet while Seungcheol's stomach twists with anxiety. He's expecting many things, most of them contradicting each other, but he doesn't expect Jeonghan to smack him on the chest.

”Ow!”

”Seungcheol, you moron”, Jeonghan says, backing up to sit on his heels. He's glowering at him. ”Why would you listen to Kim Mingyu, of all people? Since when was he the relationship expert! It took him six months to even get it through his skull that Wonwoo had the hots for him!”

”He wasn't wrong this time! Some people do break up after--”

”We're not _people_ ”, Jeonghan says sternly. ”We're you and me. _People_ can shove it.” Seungcheol is aware of the bad timing behind his observation, but a huffy Jeonghan is really sort of cute. ”The cuddling thing? I already told you. It's too damn hot.”

”I thought you were making up excuses.”

”Your body is like a fucking furnace!” Jeonghan exclaims. ”This whole _apartment_ is a furnace. I come home after the sun's been out all day and it feels like I'm walking through the gates of hell. Don't tell me you haven't noticed it.”

”It's a little warm here, I guess”, Seungcheol admits, suddenly sheepish. ”Am I really that warm, though?”

”You're so hot! No pun intended.” Jeonghan brings his palm down on Seungcheol's bare abdomen to make a point. ”It's sort of nice when the weather gets cold, but lately it's like I'm about to have a heat stroke, sleeping next to you. Which you would know if you just listened and didn't jump to all these conclusions.”

Seungcheol is left speechless. Jeonghan sighs and removes his hand. ”The heat is also part of the reason why I've been so tired and cranky”, he says. ”I mean, busting my ass on this project isn't helping, but I can barely get any sleep at night. The reason I sometimes stay at the studio is because the break room has air conditioning. Also, I feel like my tossing and turning might wake you up, and you're already getting less than half the sleep I am - hence those eyebags. Have I covered everything, now?”

Seungcheol still can't find the words, so he nods, instead. Jeonghan crawls back and settles his weight on top of him, and they kiss slowly. It's unlike their recent kisses, most of which were either brief pecks or sloppy, heated makeout sessions leading up to sex. There's nothing hurried about the way Seungcheol runs his tongue along the swell of Jeonghan's lower lip, the tiny noises Jeonghan makes in the back of his throat as Seungcheol tugs gently at the hairs on the back of his neck.

"You're silly", Jeonghan drawls against Seungcheol's swollen mouth. "Why would I dump you when I wanna marry you... and adopt eleven kids... and a kitten... and a big dumb Golden Retriever, because I know how much you like those."

"Marry me, huh?"

"I was being facetious."

"Sure." Seungcheol smirks, and Jeonghan swats his arm. He might not be the blushing type, but Seungcheol still has his ways of knowing when he's flustered.

Summer break begins at the end of June. As a gift for completing his senior project, Seungcheol buys Jeonghan a floor fan and three boxes of popsicles - the latter is a joke, but it leads to Jeonghan blowing him on their living room floor on a particularly sweltering July afternoon.

When autumn arrives and the weather cools down, Jeonghan finds his way back into the crook of Seungcheol's shoulder. Seungcheol fights back a flinch each time Jeonghan's icy cold toes dig into his bare calf, but he puts up with it, because love is all about compromise.

**Author's Note:**

> give me ideas on [twitter](http://twitter.com/enkeliyjh) / [tumblr](http://enkeliyjh.tumblr.com)


End file.
